Tennessee basketball is all but locked into a 2-seed with the longshot possibility of earning a 1-seed. Tennessee's showing in the SEC Tournament should boost its ranking ahead of Sunday night's selection Sunday show.
With the Vols' wins over Texas and Auburn in the SEC Tournament, they should be among the top two seeds in this year's tournament. The question will be, where will they land?
Based on what we know about the first seeds locked into their spots in the tournament, where Tennessee could play in the second weekend of the tournament, and who the Vols could face, there are some best-case and worst-case scenarios.
Best-Case Scenario
Tennessee's best-case scenario would be to be the second seed in the Midwest Region. This would place Tennessee as the No. 5 team in the NCAA Tournament and match up with Houston as the region's first seed.
This would be a very favorable seeding for Tennessee as they would face Houston and avoid Duke in a potential Elite Eight matchup, assuming neither team is upset during their tournament run.
Tennessee would play in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the second weekend of the tournament, which isn't too far from the Volunteer State.
The Vols would also be matched with 3-seed Wisconsin and 4-seed Texas A&M, both favorable matchups based on Joe Lunardi's updated bracketology rankings.
Lunardi also has Saint Mary's, Arkansas, and Wofford joining the Vols in Lexington, Kentucky, for the first two rounds.
Tennessee is familiar with Arkansas and opened its conference schedule with a dominant 76-52 win over the Razorbacks, creating two favorable matchups to start their NCAA Tournament run.
Worst-Case Scenario
Tennessee's worst-case scenario lies in the West. Whether as a 1-seed or 2-seed, Tennessee's being a top seed in the West Region could be the Vols' biggest challenge in this year's tournament.
That is largely because Tennessee would travel to San Fransisco for the tournament's second weekend.
Lunardi's bracketology rankings would also place the Vols with two-seed St. John's, three-seed Texas Tech, and four-seed Michigan.
That would be a challenging region with a tough travel schedule. Even as a 1-seed, Tennessee could face a disadvantage with the travel schedule, although three of the other top-four seeds are also from the Eastern Time Zone.
The Vols' worst ranking would be the West's 2-seed. Not only would they have to travel out West for the second weekend, but they would also play the first weekend in Providence, Rhode Island, as opposed to Lexington, Kentucky, in the Midwest Region.
Tennessee is coming off an impressive Elite Eight run in 2024. It was the second time in program history the Vols advanced to the Elite Eight, and they look to return this year and earn a spot in the Final Four.